Shared with permission from Corey Ranger Twitter

On April 14, 2016 British Columbia declared a public health emergency in response drug poisoning deaths. Since that time, the unregulated drug supply has become more toxic and more unpredictable.

And since that time, at least 11,000 people in British Columbia have died.

Our most recent BC Coroners data is from October 2022.
There is no doubt that we will get year-end update in the coming weeks.
And with that update, we will get another round of staged placations.
More grim milestones announced.

More “we’re doing our best”.

It’s important to note that we are not doing our best.

In fact, our incrementalist approach to unregulated drugs is causing harm. Many outside of BC believe we have widespread access to #SafeSupply, but THAT IS A LIE.

BC’s “safe supply” is not accessible to the majority in need!

The lie of BC’s #SafeSupply has far-reaching impacts.

Other provinces/jurisdictions are looking at BC, eager to deem safe supply a failure, and they’re getting exactly what they want. Our half-measured approach to safe supply is preventing the scale up of safe supply elsewhere.

There are a number of great safe supply initiatives operating right now, but they are small, highly medicalized programmatic settings. Capacity in these programs are limited. The overly-clinical approach creates accessibility barriers. Scalability is questionable.

These programs demonstrate a host of benefits. You can learn more about the SAFER VICTORIA program in this case study HERE.

But the problem isn’t about efficacy, it’s about reach. A medicalized approach is only one part of a broader strategy. We cannot expect a prescriber-driven approach to meet the needs of tens of thousands of British Columbians at risk of fatal drug poisoning.

And these programs are primarily funded by Health Canada, not the province. The incoming fiscal cliff of this funding stream is deeply concerning.

Many programs have no idea if funding will be extended beyond March 2023. That’s less than three months from now. But on the outside we have provinces like Alberta saying “BC has flooded its streets with safe supply, and it’s not working”.

The lie of BC’s #SafeSupply is fuelling anti-safe supply rhetoric outside BC.

Meanwhile, by all accounts, safe supply dispensations in BC is declining. And that is how incrementalism and government misinformation kills a movement.

We need a #SafeSupply that includes a range models.
We need to support the scale up of existing medical models.
We need a public health model.
We need visible support for non-medical models.

So when the next report on drug poisoning deaths gets released, do not settle for lies.